Fastener device with cam assembly
A fastener device is disclosed. The fastener device includes a hub defining a bore, an attachment shank including a proximal stop and distal bit received within the bore, a retainer releasably engagable with a proximal end of the hub and a defining a passageway for a proximal mounting end of the attachment shank, a biasing element engaged with the proximal stop, and a split cam assembly disposed within a distal end of the bore. The split cam assembly is biased toward a closed configuration for engaging and retaining the head of a fastener, and is piovtable upon distal advancement of the attachment shank and distal bit, against the head, to release the head from engagement with the split cam assembly.
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This application is a continuation of prior U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/910,960, filed Mar. 2, 2018, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/466,153, filed on Mar. 2, 2017, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELDThe present disclosure relates generally to a fastener device, and more particularly to a fastener device for attachment to a drive tool, where the fastener device includes a cam assembly for selectively retaining a fastener.
BACKGROUNDDuring construction of a building, surface materials such as drywall may be installed over framing using screws. The screws may be driven into the drywall by an electrically powered drive tool such as a drill. It is to be appreciated that the screws are ordinarily inserted through a sheet of drywall and into a wood or metal anchoring stud. The wood or metal anchoring studs are the partition framing of a building, and the drywall sheets are attached to the anchoring studs using the screws. Numerous screws and other fasteners are typically used in the construction of a building.
Sometimes a drywall installer may insert a screw into the drywall, but the screw is not properly anchored or retained within the anchoring stud. That is, sometimes a drywall installer may not insert a screw in its appropriate location within the anchoring stud. When improperly installed, the screw is only received within the drywall and not the anchoring stud. Due to the consistency of drywall, screws that are driven into a sheet of drywall form a bore or a hole that lacks threads. As a result, it is challenging to extract a screw from drywall, as the threads of the screw are unable to sufficiently grab the drywall. Therefore, it may be difficult to remove a screw from a sheet of drywall by reversing the direction of rotation of a drill used to install the screw.
Those in industry appreciate that improperly installed screws should be removed prior to the application of a finishing compound over the surface of the drywall sheet. This is because a head of the improperly installed screw may shift or protrude, whereas the finishing compound is applied to create a smooth, continuous surface along the drywall. Thus, any improperly installed screws should be removed from the drywall before applying the finishing compound. Drywall installers often use a pry tool, a screwdriver, or even their own fingers to extract a screw from the drywall. If an installer uses his or her hands to remove a screw, sometimes their fingers may be cut, bruised, or otherwise injured. Moreover, such a process is tedious, time-consuming, and may sometimes result in further damage to the drywall as well.
The following detailed description will illustrate the general principles of the invention, examples of which are additionally illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
Continuing to refer to both
As explained in greater detail below, the chuck 26 may rotatably drive the fastener device 10, which in turn drives a fastener 40 (seen in
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An operator may actuate the fastener device 10 from the starting position by operating an electrically powered drive tool 20 (
More specifically, as the proximal mounting end 32 of the attachment shank is advanced toward the hub 50, and the attachment shank 30 and distal bit 52 advance within the hub 50 in a direction towards the fastener 40, this in turn causes the opposite end 72 of the bit 52 to advance toward the distal end portion 92 of the hub 50, i.e., in the same direction. As the opposite end 72 of the bit 52 is advanced within the hub 50, this movement pushes or urges the head 80 of the fastener 40 out of the bore 166 of the split cam assembly 60. Movement of the head 80 of the fastener 40 may overcome the compressive force exerted by the elastic ring 64 against the respective distal end portions 162 of the symmetrical half sections 164 of the split cam assembly 60. Thus, the half sections 164 of the split cam assembly 60 may both pivot into the position seen in
It will be appreciated that the attachment shank 30, the hub 50, the bit 52 (if separate), the biasing element 54, the retainer 58, the split cam assembly 60, the roll pins 62 (if present), the elastic ring 64. and the other above-described components may be manufactured from any suitable materials, including, e.g., polymer resins and fiber-reinforced polymer resins such as nylon, metals and alloys such as aluminum or steel, and other suitable materials, and that the various individual components may be manufactured from various different materials as needed. While the forms of apparatus and methods herein described constitute preferred embodiments of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus and methods, and the changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A fastener device, comprising:
- a hub defining a bore extending between a proximal end portion and a distal end portion, the bore having a proximal portion extending from the proximal end portion to an inward step or chamfer, a medial portion, and a distal portion extending from an outward step or chamfer to the distal end portion;
- an attachment shank including a proximal stop and distal bit received within the bore;
- a retainer releasably engagable with the proximal end portion of the hub, the retainer defining a passageway for a proximal mounting end of the attachment shank;
- a biasing element disposed around the attachment shank, within the proximal portion of the bore, between the proximal stop of the attachment shank and the inward step or chamfer of the bore; and
- a split cam assembly disposed within the distal portion of the bore, the split cam assembly defining a central cavity or bore for the selective retention of a head of a fastener, the split cam assembly being biased toward a closed configuration for engaging and retaining the head of the fastener, and being piovtable toward an open configuration for releasing the head of the fastener, wherein distal advancement of the attachment shank and distal bit within the bore, against the head of the fastener, causes release of the head of the fastener from the split cam assembly.
2. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the hub defines one or more slots radially connecting the exterior of the hub to the bore.
3. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the proximal stop is formed as a separate part and attached to the attachment shank.
4. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the distal bit is a separate and removable bit, and the attachment shank defines an attachment end that abuts against an attachment end of the separate and removable bit.
5. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the attachment shank includes a distal stop disposed within the proximal portion of the bore and configured to abut against the inward step or chamfer.
6. The fastener device of claim 5, wherein the distal stop is formed as an integral and unitary part of the attachment shank.
7. The fastener device of claim 5, wherein the retainer is adjustable to establish a depth-set distance through which the attachment shank and the bit may move within the hub.
8. The fastener device of claim 7, wherein the retainer is threadingly engaged with the hub.
9. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the biasing element is a coil compression spring.
10. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the hub includes two pairs of mutually opposed apertures, and the split cam assembly includes two halves with each half engaging one of the two pairs of mutually opposed apertures.
11. The fastener device of claim 10, wherein each half includes integral pivot pins received within a respective one of the two pairs of mutually opposed apertures.
12. The fastener device of claim 10, wherein each half includes a through bore arranged cross-wise to the central cavity or bore of the split cam assembly and a roll pin secured through the through bore and a respective one of the two pairs of mutually opposed apertures.
13. The fastener device of claim 10, wherein each half includes two blind bores arranged cross-wise to the central cavity or bore of the split cam assembly and a pins secured through the blind bores and apertures of a respective one of the two pairs of mutually opposed apertures.
14. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein an outermost surface of the split cam assembly includes an annular recess that is positioned adjacent to a distal end portion of the split cam assembly, and an elastic ring is disposed within the annular recess to bias the split cam assembly toward the closed configuration.
15. The fastener device of claim 1, wherein the distal end portion of the hub includes a fastener removal feature, the fastener removal feature comprising a void in distal end portion of the hub adjoining a distal edge of the distal end portion of the hub that approximates a profile of the head of the fastener.
16. The fastener device of claim 15, wherein the fastener removal feature comprises mutually opposed extraction hooks disposed along the distal edge.
17. The fastener device of claim 16, wherein the fastener removal feature comprises two mutually opposed semi-circular boundary portions that are joined together by a straight boundary portion at one of the mutually opposed semi-circular boundary portions' mutually opposed ends, with the other of the mutually opposed semi-circular boundary portions' mutually opposed ends separated by a gap so as to define two mutually opposed extraction hooks disposed along the distal edge.
3965950 | June 29, 1976 | MacDonald |
4140161 | February 20, 1979 | Russo et al. |
4237946 | December 9, 1980 | Leitner |
5207127 | May 4, 1993 | Nick |
5509330 | April 23, 1996 | Nick |
5996452 | December 7, 1999 | Chiang |
6314845 | November 13, 2001 | Wu |
8893586 | November 25, 2014 | Nagel, III |
8893594 | November 25, 2014 | Nagel, III |
9174285 | November 3, 2015 | Chang |
10828755 | November 10, 2020 | Nagel, III |
Type: Grant
Filed: Oct 12, 2020
Date of Patent: Jun 13, 2023
Patent Publication Number: 20210023684
Assignee: SHUR-A-TAK TECHNOLOGIES LLC (Seville, OH)
Inventors: Walter Heinrich Nagel, III (Seville, OH), Michael Pintz (Fairview Park, OH), Michael Keller (Tallmadge, OH), Andrew Somrack (Newbury, OH)
Primary Examiner: David B. Thomas
Application Number: 17/068,227